Detroit Red Wings win first against San Jose Sharks 4-3 in Game 4 –NHL Play-offs Update
The Detroit Red Wings finally won their first game of the post-season second round as they defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-3 in Game 4 of the Western Conference semi-finals at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on Friday.
Detroit managed to repeat history as Darren Helm made the game winning goal late in the third period to win game four and force a game five extension after being on the brink of elimination since game three on Wednesday. Last year in the play-offs, Detroit
is in the same situation they were at that time and won game four but finally lost in game five to be thrown out of the post-season. This time around, only time will tell if they will be able to win four consecutive which would make them the fourth National
Hockey League (NHL) team to ever do so.
The Red Wings took a demanding lead in the first period when Todd Bertuzzi scored his second of the play-offs. Bertuzzi’s goal coincidently came at almost the same time as it did last year as he scored the opening goal and gave his team a 1-0 lead. Detroit’s
veteran defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom scored twice in a span of seven minutes. His second came with less than two minutes remaining in the period while taking advantage of an added man on the ice when the Sharks’ forward Ian White for booked in their first penalty.
San Jose’s rookie superstar Logan Couture put them on the boards 15 seconds after Lidstrom to end the period 3-1 for Detroit.
"I thought we played with a little bit more desperation," Lidstrom said. "Even though they climbed back into the game during that third period, we stayed within our game plan and were able to pull it off there in the end."
Dan Boyle got his second of the post-season at the 13:44 mark of the second period when he fired the puck on a high shot to bring the Sharks within a goals reach of tying the match. Dany Heatley silenced the fired up crowd when he levelled the match early
in the third period after which had the Red Wings skirmishing to find an opportunity and save themselves from an uncertain over-time.
Luckily for the home crowd, they had an opportunity to rise into an uproar and go crazy when Darren Helm scored the game winning goal with 1:27 seconds remaining in the final period finally giving them their first win of the semi-final series.
"We think we have an opportunity," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said.
Both teams have only won with a one goal difference these past four games making the upcoming match-ups still up for grabs. The San Jose Sharks have a chance to eliminate the Red Wings and advance into the conference finals when they return home to play
game five on Sunday.
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